Merlin owners

My understanding is the BAM does not digitize anything ... it is essentially a high quality, fixed frequency EQ which provides a boost to the VSM at certain points effectively extending the bottom end response of the speaker.

Dredster- I am not a merlin owner but I do enjoy there speakers. If you have any techinical questions get a hold of Bobby at Merlin he can answer ANY question you may have, he is the owner/designer and a super nice guy to boot(if you are into golfing he will be your best friend :) I can assure you this much if the BAM did anything bad to the sound he wouldn't use it- Bobby is all about the sound NO gimmicks.

~Tim

Hey there Dredster-

Jrinkerptdnet  has described the Bam and its function perfectly. It is an entirely analog component . The only thing I would add would be that the Bam also filters out really low frequencies and subsonic garbage below the boost point. This has a couple of benefits. It minimizes distortion particularly in the midrange and saves amplifier power that would be wasted wagging the woofer cone about below the frequencies that the VSM comfortably operates over. The Bam uses the same quality of parts (the best...) as the VSM's crossover and appears completely transparent to me beyond the addition of a little more bass clout and reach. It is a very admirable addition to a pair of VSMs.

Happy Trails!
Vince@Freewheel

I have the Merlin VSM-M without the BAM (and have never heard one). The Merlin site states: 5.2dB of boost at 35 Hz; Subsonic bass roll-off below 27Hz. I chose not to use a BAM because I use a low power SET amp for which 5.2dB would be rather significant. I let the lows roll off naturally and add a solid state sub for the bottom down to 20Hz.

GO TO WWW.MERLINMUSIC.COM CLICK ON the VSM-millennium speaker click on the merlin bam and they will tell you everything you want to know about the bam.

The above is correct...the BAM isn't digital. I have tried my VSM-Ms without the BAM (Battery BAM). THey're great either way, but I really prefer them with the BAM (although I don't have a SET amp wattage/efficiency issue like the above post mentions).